Falling Off a Tree Led to Romance
by littlehan-solo22
Summary: Aiko Ishikawa doesn't have the best luck. She lost the boy of her dreams after leaving a party, lost her father in a horrible war, her mother ran away, and nobody in her family's company likes her. The only good luck she has is her loving brother and meeting the Host Club in her new school, Ouran High. But when she recognizes Mori as her long lost childhood crush, what will happen?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys this is littlehan-solo here and I am a new writer~ my friend asked me to make my first story an OHSHC fanfic (don't know why) with a girl and "Mori" (again, don't know why) but this is it! Hopefully you guys will like and if you don't I don't really care and comment!**

Chapter 1

"Aiko! What are you doing?!"

Nice of you to ask, brother dear. I am climbing a tree. Why am I climbing a tree? To save my cat Yuuki from the evil clutches of a willow tree it was climbing earlier.

"Don't go up by yourself! I'll get someone."

"Oh, don't even think about it,_ aniki."_

I continue to climb, ignoring my brother's pleas for me to come down. Whilst taking a quick break on a branch, I look around. People are milling about, almost like walking, talking, laughing and eating zombies. I spot my mom and dad talking with a guy while two kids stand near him. One boy has honey-blond hair and golden eyes. He's downing a piece of chocolate cake. I smile a little. The boy's cute.

The other one isn't as cute, with slightly spiky black hair and piercing gray eyes. I'm about to look away, but something about that guy makes me take an interest in him. I realize too quickly that I'm staring at him and continue my task of climbing the tree.

After several minutes of sweaty-palm wiping, enduring painful stabs of splinters in my childish hands, and constantly looking over my shoulder, I finally make it to Yuuki's branch, where the cat is licking itself and meowing. Oh yeah, and she's near the edge of the branch.

_Uh oh,_ I think to myself, but I grit my teeth. _Just get the stupid cat and go._ But as I carefully inch myself across the wooden beam, Yuuki meows and leisurely drops from the branch.

"Oh, come on!" I groan to myself as I inch my way back.

And I freeze.

Cracks are near the base of the branch, and they're widening!

_I'm gonna die,_ I think to myself. No. I can't let this control me. I need to get down.

But I can't. No matter how hard I try to force myself to move, I can't even breathe.

CRRACCK…

"GAAAAHHHH!" I shriek as the branch, with me on it, collapses and descends to the ground with terrifying speed. I shut my eyes, bracing myself for the pain.

But it doesn't come. I open my eyes slightly to see the black-haired boy looking down at me. I fight the urge to blush.

"Aiko!" Dad rushes over to me and give me a bone-crushing hug. Then he turns to the boy. "Thank you so much for saving my daughter…"

He nods politely. "It's nothing. Seriously."

"Aiko. Say thank you to the person who saved you."

I trn to the boy, and bow slightly. "Thank you," I murmur.

He nods. "No problem, I guess."

After the party resumes, the boy turns to me. "What's your name?"

I look down a little. "Aiko, as you can tell. What's yours?"

He smiles. "Takashi. But people call me 'Mori.'"

I shrug. "I think it suits you. Nice and mysterious."

He smiles again. "Thanks. By the way-"

"Takashi!" The cute boy I noticed before tackles Mori, sending both of them to the ground.

"Takashi! I want more cake! " Then he turned to me, golden eyes flashing. "Do _you_ want cake?"  
I shudder a little. Despite the cute act, the boy scares me a little. "Maybe later."

[Few Hours Later]

"Hey, Aiko! Time to head home!" My brother, Hideki, shouts to me, just as the sun touches the ground, sending bright colors across the sky.

Mori turns to me. "Do you have to go now?"  
I nod. "Yes. But here." I unclasp my blue opal necklace around my neck and offer it to Mori. "I want you to have this."  
He takes it, puts it around his neck, and says, "But this is yours, isn't it?"  
"Yes. But why are you asking me that when you already put it on?"  
He smiles a little, and says, "We'll see each other again."

"Yes. We will." Then I dash down the hill and jump in the car.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys it's littlehan-solo again~ got some good comments saying that I should continue the story and this is it! Sorry if the title is too cheesy, but I couldn't think of a good one. Also, if u guys have any story ideas u want me to write about, then send it to me! **

Chapter 2

I stare at the black marble gravestone, fingering the dog tag around my neck.

Oh, wait. Why do I have a dog tag? Dad gave it to me before he went to the army.

"Why do you have to go, _Oto-san_?" I protested, holding the tag after he placed it around my neck.

"Aiko, this war is very important. The army will need all the soldiers they can get." He smiles and pats my head. "This dog tag gave me lots of good luck in the field. I want you to have it, so that it'll lead you to where your good luck is."

I nodded. We hugged, then Dad boarded the plane.

I would never see my father again. When I turned six, a man came up to our door and said, "I'm very sorry, but Kei Ishikawa died saving his comrades in the heat of war."

I felt very cold hearing those words, and I remember crying a lot. Hideki would hold me and Mom when we cried. But even with Hideki, I woke up the next morning and found that Mom disappeared.

It has been ten years since everything happened. I'm sixteen years old now. My birthday was last week.

_I miss you more on my birthdays…_

"Aiko?" Hideki stands next to me and looks at the gravestone depicting my father's name. "It's time to go to school."

"Oh… Yes. I know. Thanks, _aniki._ I'll meet you at the car. Just… can you give me a quick moment?"

He looks confused for a second, but he smiles a little and says, "Of course. You take your time, now." Then he walks back to the car while I continue standing at the stone.

"Hey, _Oto-san_? I'm going to school, now. I'll see you soon, okay?" My voice chokes up. I sigh, leave a flower, and walk back to the car.

[Few Hours Later]

I stand at the classroom full of laughing, talking students. For some reason, this reminds me of the party back when I was five.

_No, Aiko. Don't think about the party…_ Ah, yes. Mori and Mitsukuni (aka "Honey"). I never saw them again after I left the party.

As I walk down the corridor, I think about… well, nothing.

"Don't these people study?" I sigh aloud. The only reason I was at the classroom was to see if it was empty. I focus better if no one is there.

I walk up some stairs after checking the library, and go down a brightly-lit hallway. The giant windows allow the sunlight to wash everything in gold. I smile a little. Then I see it. Music Room #3.

_It might be empty. Let's see…_

I open the door. Rose petals come swirling out, and a chorus of voices says, "Welcome."

_When I opened the door, I saw a bunch of idiotic-looking boys._

Well, idiotic and good-looking. One has gold-blond hair and blue-violet eyes that looked watery. _Might drink. Drunk people have watery eyes._ [Check for alcohol.] Another boy has glasses and black hair. _Might have egotistical personality._ Another totally looks like a girl. _Might be a trans. _[Check medical files.] Two boys look identical, with auburn-ish hair and mischievous smiles. _Definitely identical twins. Might be gay and incestuous. _[Check social file.]

The other two… I get the feeling that I recognize them. One's cute, with honey-blond hair and gold-brown eyes. _Honey… need to investigate him._

The other one _definitely_ looks familiar, with slightly spiky black hair and stormy gray eyes. Then I realize with a shiver that he looks _extremely_ similar to Mori from the party. _It might be him…_

"Well, now. Who is this. Kyoya?"

The egotistical looking guy checked his laptop. "Aiko Ishikawa. New transfer. In class 2-A. Has the best grades in that class. But of course, she's only second to me."

The gay and incestuous(?) twins snicker. I glare at them.

"Well, now. Hikaru, Kaoru. That is no way to treat our guests!" The drinking(?) person stands up from his throne and approaches me with a slow yet elegant(?) stride. "Hello. We are the Host Club!" He waves dramatically around the room. "As you can see…"

While he blabs his mouth off, I tune out the words and slowly inch my way toward the door.

"Boss! The girl's tryin' to escape!" The twins holler, and they dash toward me, their eyes glittering like evil diamonds.

"EEEEEHHHHH!" I shriek, running around, desperate to reach the door, but the twins keep pushing me toward the inside of the room.

THUNK! I turn, and realize that I hit a small table with a jar on it. Before I know it, it falls and crashes to the floor with a sharp CCRRAACCKK!

Everything goes quiet. I stare at the broken jar.

The twins say simultaneously, "That jar would've sold for $200,000 _yen!"_

…_What?_ I do the calculations in my head, and I slowly turn toward the boys. "Uhh… can I pay you back?"

Kyoya(?) comes up to me carrying his laptop and says, "That vase costs more than what you can pay. And we want _you_ to pay, not your rich ?"

The gold-hair boy, Tamaki, comes up to us. "Hmm… if you can't pay with money. Pay with service!" He dramatically points a finger at me. "From now on, you will replace Haruhi as the _dog!_"

…_Dog? Seriously?_

Mori's doppelganger fingers something around his neck. I sigh. This is gonna be interesting…


	3. Chapter 3

**Heyo everyone! littlehan-solo here and I'm back for more writing! Hopefully u guys will continue being awesome and plz remember to keep writing reviews. Also if u guys have any story ideas 4 me send them via review and I'll look at them~**

Chapter 3

One thing I should mention to you guys. Classes in this school… aren't really classes. Sure, the teachers teach you and stuff, but that's 10% of what happens in the room. Then important meetings make up another 10% and social time 80%...Yeah, _aniki._ This is the great Ouran Academy.

"Hey Aiko."

I flinch, and shivers go up my spine. They probably show visibly because the speaker, Kyoya, laughs lightly.

"Just wanted you to know that the club is meeting outside today. So don't be late. By the way, Tamaki wants-"

"I've decided to make you a HOST!" Tamaki bounds up to us and stands right in front of me with a huge grin.

"…Why?" I ask. _This boy and his stupid ideas…_

He shrugs elegantly, waving his arms around. "Oh, I have a feeling you'll be like Haruhi, our natural rookie! Of course, you'll need training and-"

"That is one _stupid_ idear!" The idea's so ridiculous that I can't help but laugh. "Besides, you can't make me be like a boy!"

"Oh, Aiko, I wouldn't underestimate the skills we have here. Meet us at the room in a few minutes." Tamaki nods at Kyoya, and they both leave the room.

"But class will be starting soon!" I protest. But it's too late. They're already gone. I sink back into my chair and sigh. This has _got _to be the worst day ever.

[Few Hours and a New Look Later]

"Welcome."

Oh, dear. We're doing horses. Great.

I turn to Kyoya. "Does anybody here have experience with horses?"

He nods. "Well, just those two."

He points to where Mori's doppelganger is riding a stallion and Honey is stampeding the whole place with a wild, untamed and unbridled horse. Well, a pony. All the girls are looking at them with awe and hollering, "We love you, Mori-_senpai! _Honey-_senpai!_"

_Mori?_ I look at the doppelganger, who's busy grooming a horse. _Is it you, Mori? Is it really?_

He turns behind, and our eyes briefly meet. His hands instantly go around his neck and he fingers something. And… is that a blush? I turn my eyes away and see a beautiful black stallion in the stables and I walk toward it.

I put on the bridle and sit on the saddle. It's surprisingly comfortable, and I hold the reins in one hand. With a flick, I send it going.

Whilst riding, I look at my dog tag and my thoughts wander off to memories of Dad. He loved to take me and Hideki riding and my favorite was a chestnut-colored mare that I loved. In fact, I loved it so much that Dad bought it for me. Now it's in a stable at my house, where I ride it every day.

The horse nickers a little, pawing the ground. I know enough about horses to know that it's nervous. Then overhead I hear a loud BOOM!

I look up. "Thunder." I look at the people and see some are fascinated, others more freaked out. Haruhi's on the floor, covering her ears. _Must have astraphobia._

Lightning streaks across the sky. It's so pretty, I look up, until lightning thunders down and sends my horse in a frenzy. Suddenly, it's not as easy to control.

"Aiko! Look out!" I don't know who said that, but I should've taken it into consideration.

But it's too late. Before I can even think, the horse throws me off. The people scream. The ground comes up at me at 45 miles per hour.

_I'm gonna die…_ I think to myself. Once my head hits the ground it's over for me. My now-short hair flies around me. I close my eyes. The tree comes to me.

_Save me.. please…_

I open my eyes. Stormy gray eyes meet mine. Everyone cheers, but I don't hear it.

"It's you…" I murmur, too tired to think.

He nods slightly, and smiles.


	4. Chapter 4

**heyo people littlehan-solo here and ready to write! thx to all who support my story (even the crappy chpt3) ugh i feel so frustrated because whenever i type this story it always "refreshes" itself… in other words it wants to make my life hell! ;( anyway continue being the awesome people u guys r by reviewing and may the force be u~**

Chapter 4

"I'll see you again tomorrow, right?" Mori says to me while we walk through the garden. He's holding my hand tightly, glancing back from time to time to see that no one's following.

I nod. "Of course you're seeing me tomorrow. I'm the dog, right? I have to pay the stupid debt."

He glances back, sighs in relief(?), and leans down. His lips graze my forehead, and warmth suddenly courses through me. I hope the shadows of the trees disguises the fact that I'm blushing.

"All right," I mutter, "that's enough lovey-dovey stuff. I've got to get home."

Mori smiles a little, pinches my cheek, and walks back to the party, a little skip in his step. I sigh. _He's acting weird._

I head toward the gates, thinking of all the chores I'll have to do once I get home. Out of the corner of my eye, I see two people wearing black overcoats. I have a suspicious feeling that they're watching me.

_Don't be ridiculous,_ my brain tells me,_ you're just shocked that the guy you've been searching for over 11 years just kissed you. Don't be an idiot..._

So I take a deep breath and walk towards the direction of my house. I keep glancing behind me. Just as I suspected, they're following. Panic builds in my chest. I look around, nervousness ready to explode like a bomb. No one's around.

I turn around. Huge mistake. Two large, meaty hands grab my face and lift me up.

"NOOOOOO! LET ME GO!" I thrash around, desperate to escape, but the grip is like iron. "MORI!"

Something goes up to my nose: a wet rag. I recognize it immediatly: ether. I scream again, trying my best to keep it away, but it's too late. One quick whiff of the rag, and I go out cold.

[Mori's POV]

"NOOOOOO! LET ME GO! MORI!"

Aiko. Something's not right.

Mitsukuni looks up at me after downing a piece of strawberry cake. I sigh. _Better remind him of brushing his teeth later._

"Did you hear that, Takashi?"

All I can say is, "Ah." My usual response to everything.

"Let's check. Aiko might be in trouble."

_Aiko _and _trouble _are the only words I need to hear. I set down my teacup, rise from my chair, and dash toward the gates, Mitsukuni following.

By the time we reach the gates, a black van is peeling out of the curb.

"No…" I find myself saying. "NO!" I start to chase the van, but Mitsukuni pushes me down.

"You'll never catch up to the van," he says sadly, gazing as the car screeches down the street.

For the first time in my life, I've never felt so hopeless.

I don't notice it, but Tamaki and Haruhi put their hands on my shoulders. I want to push them away, but my arms feel weak.

"We need to go after it!" Tamaki cries out.

Kyoya pushes his glasses up. "I have a feeling I know where they'll go. One of my contacts just said that he saw the black van head toward the abandoned nuclear warehouse."

I tense up. _The nuclear warehouse?_

Hikaru looks at Kyoya. "Isn't that where the 100 missing girls went missing?"

My blood goes cold. If Aiko's really there, then she'll end up dead. While everyone's still talking about the best way to get her back, I start tracking down the car. It's easy with the screech marks.

"Mori-_senpai?_" I whip around to see Haruhi standing behind me. I sigh.

"Hmm?"

"You can't go by yourself. You'll get hurt." Her face looks worried. I pat her head in reassurance and simply smile. Then I go back tracking. Haruhi follows me.

"I'm not gonna stand around and see my two friends get hurt," she insists when I ask her why she continues to stick around.

"Fine. Then let's go…" We go down the path, following the tracks.

_Aiko… you just stay safe. I'll get you. Don't worry..._


	5. Chapter 5

**hey people littlehan-solo here and ready to write! don't know if u guys like the story but hey! i'm totally badbutt and i'm continuing this story! oh yah plz try 2 keep reviewing and send me story ideas**

**if u guys don't like this story at least tell me! ****btw this chpt might not be good 2 some people but plz try 2 stay w/ me i get so lonely:(**

Chapter 5

[Aiko's POV]

_Whack!_

The twig man lights a cigarette and blows smoke in my bloody face. "Oy. You hear what I said, you moneymaker?"

_Wait a minute… a moneymaker?_

"I'm not your moneymaker!" I scream, thrashing against the metal chains that bound me to the chair. "Let me out of here! I'll rip your heads off!"

The fat man snickers. "You wouldn't." He then hefts up a chainsaw into my line of view. "We've amputated over 100 girls in this room with this chainsaw. You won't be the first or the last," he promises.

I swallow, metallic blood rushing down my parch throat. I haven't realized it until now that I'm dying of thirst.

The twig notices my discomfort. "Oy, Azuma. Get a bottle."

The fat man turns and belches. "Bottle of what? Whiskey?"

Twig man sighs. "No, ya dolt! Goody-goody teens don't drink whiskey! But get that too. And a bottle of water." He puts emphasis in the word water, so I know he's not bringing it.

Azuma the fat dumpling waddles out, muttering something about selling. Meanwhile, the twig turns to me.

"You're probably wondering what you're doing here, in the nuclear warehouse." He says_ nuclear warehouse_ so fondly, I can't help but wonder if he was born here.

He waves his arms proudly around the dimly-lit room. "This is where we make our millions. After it shut down, Azuma and I took it over, and we made our business."

"What business?" I growl.

He sneers at me. "Why… can't you tell? We kidnap girls and sell them all around the world."

Goosebumps crawl over me. I'm going to be sold for money by two incredibly ugly people.

Azuma the dumpling waddles back into the room, carrying to bottles of who knows what. The twig snatches up a bottle and drinks heavily in it, and I guess that it's whiskey. He burps, takes the other bottle, and dumps it's contents on a damp rag.

I want to scream. More ether. Not water, like I expected.

The twig smiles evilly at me and forcefully covers my face with the rag. I scream, but once again, I go cold.

[Mori's POV]

I stand in front of the metal doors, having sent Haruhi back to tell the others where I am. My hands are clenched into fists so tight, they turn white.

I look up at the stars and fiddle with the pendant around my neck. Ever since Aiko left the party and I never saw her again, I've spent more time staring at the blue opal instead of doing kendo, which is unusual for me, as I prefer kendo to anything else.

In a fit of anxiety, I press my ear to the cold metal. I hear loud screams, the creaking of machinery, a dragging sound. I feel nervous, so I slowly pry open the rusty door.

"Aiko?" I murmur, my voice echoing slightly throughout the cavernous room.

I hear a grunting and a whipping sound. A door is slightly ajar, spilling a harsh white light. Fear and anxiety give me courage to take a peek inside.

I immediately wish I shouldn't have.

Inside, an extremely skinny man is holding a chain and is savagely whipping someone. Judging by the voice of the screaming, it's a girl. Unfortunately, it's not Aiko.

Using the distraction, I sneak past without being noticed, wincing a little at each whipping sound.

After checking 10 more doors full of really weird equipment (chainsaw, pruning shears, etc.) and all with blood on them, I finally open up a door to see several girls crowded together. Most of them are shocked to see me, others beg me to save them by clinging to my legs. I turn and see some girls helping someone else, trying to give her water.

All of a sudden, i feel a sharp pain across my back, and I crumple to the floor. Red spots dance across my vision, and the girls scream. I turn around to see the skinny guy and an extremely fat man both holding chain whips, smirking evilly at me. The fat man drops the whip and hefts up a chainsaw. The blade is flecked with blood.

"Well, now, we have an intruder. Azuma, you know what to do."

The fat man snickers and revs up the saw. The girls shriek and scuttle backwards. I close my eyes.

Someone cries out, "NOO!" and the fat man goes flying one direction, the chainsaw the other. Mitsukuni's standing there, wagging his finger saying, "Hurting my friends is a big no-no!" For some reason, I can't help but groan.


	6. Chapter 6

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo here and ready to write! finally got some reviews to continue the story but i still don't know if i should continue the story or not so i'll write this chpt and see how it goes… if i get more than 3 reviews i will continue the story… oh yah btw SEND ME STORY IDEAS! seriously no one does that! i don't want to spend all my time writing this story**

Chapter 6

I sigh, staring at the blue ocean. Tamaki and the twins are having a water gun shootout, Haruhi and Honey are hunting for crabs, Mori's wielding a harpoon for some strange reason, and Kyoya's having a typing showdown with his laptop, which he always carries with him.

Oh wait. Why am I at the beach?

To answer the most mysterious question of the universe, let's travel back in time for a few hours and you'll see why.

[Few Hours Ago]

I was walking down the street (the same street where I was kidnapped) when all of a sudden, I was being dragged down the sidewalk. I whipped my head around to see the twins taking a hold of my arms with extremely sneaky (and creepy) smiles. My eye twitched and I almost broke free of their steely grip. Until a sleek limo came up. A window rolled down, and Tamaki appeared.

"Put her in the car. Let's get ready to move out." Then the window rolled up just in time, because as soon as the stupid face disappeared, I punched the window. Someone inside made an incredibly girly scream; most likely Tamaki. He is the king of incredible girly screaming.

[Present Time]

So now you guys know why I'm at the beach. I got kidnapped. _Again._

I glance around the beach. It's clean, with white sands, crystal blue waters, and it's full of people. I twitch. I hate it when I'm surrounded by who knows how many people. On instinct, I curl up into a ball and stare at the beach.

"Hey, Aiko. Mind if I sit here?"

I look up. Kyoya's typing on his laptop.

"…No." I say.

He completely ignores me and plops down on the towel next to me, sand flying everywhere, especially into my mouth.

"Ugh!" I cry out, wiping sand out with my hands. He just laughs and continues typing.

I look out at the loud and chaotic scene. Hikaru squirted water straight into Tamaki's mouth; Kaoru's rolling on the sand, busting his stomach out laughing; Haruhi and Honey are teasing each other by chasing each other with huge crabs in their hands; Mori's still wielding a large harpoon.

I touch my dog tag instinctively. My dad used to take us to the beach and he would throw me into the ocean and Hideki taught me how to snorkel.

"By the way, Aiko, how are the bruises?" Kyoya asks me whilst typing in an accounting report.

I look down at my arm. It's a forest of purple and blue. Immediately, nausea settles in my stomach.

"Fine…"I manage to croak without throwing up. I look at Kyoya to find him staring at me.

"What?" I ask, a chilly feeling creeping up my neck.

He leans over, raises his hand, and lightly touches the scar on my cheek. A light cold spreads through my body from his touch. But just when I'm about to bat his hand away and reprimand him for touching me and staring at me, the cold changes to a slight warmth. I move my head from his cold hand and he puts it down. I look over Kyoya's shoulders to find Mori looking at me with… was that jealousy? Our eyes meet, and he turns away, leaving slight disappointment in my gut.

"_Senpai!_" Haruhi calls from the sand. I look at her. Before I got kidnapped, she told me about how he was actually a she. Fortunately, I took it pretty well.

She waves her hand with a cheery expression. "We'll have crabs for dinner! Honey-_senpai_ and I found so many crabs! _Crabs for dinner!_" She and Honey cheer and turn in circles. Mori gazes at the two with a very faint smile while Tamaki does some sort of really weird wiggly dance while holding his hands to his face with a really weird expression, almost like The Scream painting with a happy twist.

"Oh, did you now, sweetheart? Did daughter find that many crabs?" Tamaki says happily(?).

While he continues the wiggle dance, Honey, Mori, and some girls do a really weird exercising(?) dance. Meanwhile, Kaoru accidentally(?) knocks Hikaru into the water. Watching them makes me sad, as it reminds me of my dad throwing me into the ocean.

"Oh, dear. They're heading back to the hotel," Kyoya mutters while finishing up the report. Then he shuts the laptop cover, stands up, wipes sand off his shorts, and offers me his hand. I sigh and take it. He hoists me up and all of a sudden, his face is inches from mine. Blushing ferociously, I step back and walk toward the hotel, Kyoya following behind.

[Few Hours Later]

"Haruhi? You all right in there?"

The throwing up sounds make it incredibly obvious that she's not. I knock the door in reassurance and walk down the hallway to my room. When I open it, I almost scream.

My room is 300 feet above the sea on a cliff. I start to back up until my back touches the cold wood. Panic builds in my chest. My fear of heights started when I fell off the tree. It's a shame because I _love_ rock-climbing. Oh yeah, and to make things worse, a huge storm is approaching quickly, read to wash me away and pound me with cold, hard waves.

Due to my extremely positive thinking, I don't notice someone quietly approaching me from behind until someone puts their hands on my shoulders. Shivers go up my spine and I turn around to see Mori standing behind me.

"You all right?" he asks me, his warm fingers grazing my scar.

_He's warm…_ I think, almost giddily. I almost forget the fact that the storm's approaching,_ almost._ Until I hear the sharp crack of thunder. I turn around and see large ocean waves tearing away at the cliff, and they're so high that they almost touch the stone base of my room.

Without thinking, I shriek and I find myself locked away in the closet. It's dark, and I start to panic a little. _It's safe,_ I try to convince myself desperately.

There's a muffled thumping outside the door. "Aiko? Aiko, what's the matter? Hey, come on." There's a slight rattling as Mori attempts to open the closet.

"It's okay," I whisper. "It's fine."

"No, it's _not _fine," Mori insists, rattling the door even louder.

"It's fine," I keep saying, mostly to myself. "You're gonna be okay… It's just like last time…"

All of a sudden, everything goes quiet. Then there's a sharp _crack _and a blast of cold air hits me right in the face. Mori picks me up and puts me on the bed, and he sits down next to me.

"You don't have to be scared again." He puts an arm around me. I'm still surprised at how warm he is. "I'll be here next time. I promise."

In the end, all I can do is lean on him and nod.

[The Next Day]

"Wow, _what _a vacation," Tamaki cries out to the sun. Everyone, me included, completely ignores him. Shock goes to his face, and I almost laugh at him.

"You know what?" he says to us as we board the limo. "I think we're going on a new vacation! Haruhi~ What do you think?"

We all stare at him with daggers. Amazingly, he turns to a solid block of ice.

"Get him off the car," Kyoya says to us. "Tamaki Ice will only slow us down."

So we all push him off into the sunlight to thaw, and we all laugh as he starts chasing us, waving his arms and screaming bloody murder.


	7. Chapter 7

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo here and ready to write! since i still don't know whether i should continue or not i'll write this chpt and see how it goes…oh yah i got a really cool idea fora sequel story: so moro and aiko get along just fine but then he gets kidnapped and becomes a cold-blooded killer! won't that be fun kids? but yah, send me a review on whether i should make this happen or take a hike… oh yah one more thing: i need story ideas! ok back to the chpt**

Chapter 7

It's been a few days since the beach trip, but these days I feel extremely pissed. Oh, wait. You guys will probably want to know the reason for my bad mood.

It's because that Brazilian exchange student… oh, what was her name? Oh yeah, Mai. Anyway, she hangs out with Mori so much that he doesn't even look at me. I sigh, look up and… wait. Where am I? I take a quick glance around and realize that I'm at the fountain. I take a deep breath and put my head in my hands. I'm exhausted.

"Hey, Aiko, you alright?"

With a jump, I turn my head slowly and see Kyoya sitting next to me, typing away on his laptop. When he looks at me, the sunlight reflects off his glasses, so I can't see his eyes. I'm kinda glad I don't have to see his eyes; I'm scared of what I might see.

"Yeah yeah," I reply, yawning loudly, "I'm just tired a bit."

He nods, but he continues staring at me. I turn to him, and he leans his head forward, so close until our head are just barely touching. I can feel his breath on my face. He reaches out and his fingers graze my scar, sending the same slight warmth I felt back at the beach coursing through me. But unless I've gone crazy or something, it got warmer.

"Um…" I murmur, leaning away, and covering my face, hoping a blush doesn't appear on me.

"Sorry," he says quietly, resuming his typing. "Just wanted to see how the scar was coming up."

"Well, it's coming up just fine, thank you very much. I don't need a mother in my life," I chortle, looking out at the doves flocking at the top of the rooftops. The scar hasn't gone away, no matter how much medication I put on it.

A dove flutters up to my hand and lightly pecks it. I smile a little and lift my hand. Immediately, the dove flutters to my outstretched finger and pecks at the breadcrumbs I haven't realized were there. I laugh slightly and pet the dove's feathers. I show it to Kyoya, and he simply smiles.

"Come on," he says, shutting his laptop, standing up, and offering me his hand, just like when we were at the beach. "Might as well get back. Tamaki gets worried easily."

I sigh, nod, and grab his hand. And as we walk back, all I can think about is how warm his hand is now.

[Back at the Room…]

"Kyo-_chan!_ Ai-_chan! _Want some cake?" Honey pounces on me, nearly pulling me to the floor.

"um… maybe later." I manage to pull Honey off of me and I sit on the window sill.

Haruhi comes up and sits across from me. "Aiko-_senpai. _You okay?"

I nod.

"Want some tea?"

I shake my head.

Honey pops up next to me. "Want some cake?"

I shake my head again.

The door creaks open, and I turn to see the girl standing there. Oh wait. I should probably describe her to you.

She's tall, a few inches taller than me, has skin the color of honey, long caramel-colored hair and startling brown eyes. She's wearing jeans and a tank top with a white shirt underneath, with a crystal pendant dangling on a silver chain.

She dashes into the room and grabs Mori's hand. "Come on! There's something I need to show you! It's really cool!" Then they both dash out into the corridor and beyond. Frustrated, I grab my textbook and violently rip through it, desperate to study for the exams.

"Oy, Aiko-_senpai," _Haruhi lifts her hands in an attempt to pacify me. "Don't need to study like that. You'll rip the pages and the debt'll go higher."

That's enough to make me stop rifling through the pages in a frenzy. I look up and sigh angrily, then dash out of the room. Haruhi calls for me to come back, Honey starts crying a little, and I hear someone chasing me. By the time I reach the fountain, someone grabs my shoulder and yanks me backwards. I scream and my hand goes wild, slapping someone.

"Hey! That's _me _you're hitting! Calm down!" Kyoya. I force breaths in and out, in and out, until I start to see regularly again. I don't realize it until now, while Kyoya's wiping my eyes with a handkerchief, that I was crying.

"Hey, don't be like that. Come on, sit here." He leads me to the bench and has me sit down while he wipes the rest of the tears.

Finally he's done, and he sighs. "Jeez, you didn't have to run away like that. You left everyone worried, even the twins. Oh, here comes Haruhi."

Just like he said, she's running toward us, panting and huffing all the way.

"Aiko-_senpai!" _She comes up in front of us and collapses on the ground, panting. Her brown hair's dripping with sweat.

"You didn't need to run off! Anyways, you okay?"

I nod and wipe off my hands, even though they're not sweaty. I offer her my hand and hoist her up.

"Well, I'm going back. Haruhi, you go on up, and for goodness' sake, _get changed._ You'll smell like sweat, and believe me, you already smell like it."

"Alright," she says and walks back. When she's gone, Kyoya turns to me.

"Sorry about Mori-_senpai._ I can't offer much consolation… except this. And don't kill me." He leans down and kisses the top of my head. Then he walks back to the stairs. I watch him for a while, finger the dog tag, and follow.

[The Next Day]

I haven't realized it until now but it's December, and it's living it's title as the evil month. Why? Because it snowed so much that school was canceled. In a way, I'm kinda glad it snowed so much, because I don't have to deal with all the heartbreak I suffered yesterday.

_Riiiing… riiiing… _I stumble out from my comfortable bed, waddle down the stairs, and snatch up the phone.

"Ummm… ugh… hello?" I mutter.

"Aiko-_chan?_ You feelin' all right?" Oh. Just my neighbor.

"Yeeess.." I groan. "What is it?"

"Listen, Ai-_chan, _I'm sorry for bothering you, but I need a job done. Believe me, I would do this myself, but all this snow is blocking my doorway, and your door seems perfectly fine, so I need you to do this, alright?"

"Ugh… _fine._" I slam the phone down out of sleep loss and annoyance and grab a coat on. House keys jingling on my finger, I leave the house, lock the door, and walk over to the neighbor's.

She hands me a package and gives me an address to deliver it to. Oh yeah, and she gives me a thermos of hot chocolate. One thing I should mention to you about her: she makes a mean hot chocolate.

But as I drop the package in the house, I see someone walking in my direction. Looking closer, I realize it's Mori. _Oh, crap. _I turn my back, hoping he doesn't see me. Totally backfires.

"Aiko? Aiko, is that you? Hey, where are you going?"

Sipping my hot cocoa, I walk down an empty alley, but hearing Mori following me, I walk faster. I don't see where I'm going until I bump into someone. Well, _two _someones. I drop the thermos.

"Hey, watch where you're- Hey, you're not that bad. Where ya goin', girlie? Need some 'directions'?" Hearing his tone, I know immediately that if I ask, I'm not gonna get directions.

Instead of responding, I shake my head and attempt to sidestep them, bet they step in the way I'm trying to go. This goes on several times until I scream, "Leave me alone! Get out of here!"

The boys look at each other and guffaw loudly, holding their stomachs. All of a sudden, in a different yet close alley, I hear another girl screaming. I recognize by the tone it's Mai. Looking behind me, I see Mori looking at each alley, choosing who to save. I can't depend on him all the time. So I turn back toward the boys and attempt to fight them off, but they push me back.

I scream and run, but I don't go far. The boys quickly catch up and push me to the ground. I scream, and they pick me up and sling me over their shoulders. In a panic, I smack them in the face. A boy shrieks and drops me, headfirst, to the cold, snowy, and ice-caked ground. My head crashes to a tree trunk, and in a daze, I look up, and see snow collapsing. Before I can run, it falls on me.

And once again, I black out.


	8. Chapter 8

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo here and ready to write! last night i got ****_so _****many ideas for stories that i'm gonna work on al of them, including a sequel to this crap story! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! why would u do that? because i'm evil! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA! oh wait. enough evil laughs! get on with the crap story!**

Chapter 8

"Hahahahahahahahaha!"

I'm covering my ears, trying to suppress the ugly laughing. Everyone surrounds me: family members, Host Club members, my brother, and Mori. Especially him. Usually his laugh is warm, but this time his voice is harsh, cold, and cruel. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention one _tiny _little detail. i'm strapped to a bonfire, and everyone's holding a flame. That changes everything, huh?

"No..." I start to whisper, then my voice elevates to a scream. "No!" I thrash around and scream, desperate to escape the heat and smoke that's starting to surround me. But it's too late. A flame rubs against my skin and I scream from the pain.

"Aiko! AIKO!"

I bolt upright in... a bed? Mori's in front of me, shaking my shoulders and panic written all over his face.

"What's the matter? You were crying and moving around. Hey, what's the matter?"

As he holds me, I manage to blubber about the horrible nightmare through stinging tears. Everything looks so blurry, I can't see and think straight.

"Well, it's over now. It's over," he murmurs soothingly, patting my back from time to time.

I pull away from him. "How do I know it's over?"

"I'll stay here until you fall back to sleep."

"How do I know you'll even do that?"

He raises an eyebrow. "You don't trust me?"

I stare at him. "After everything that's happened to me over the past few days? Yeah, _real _trustworthy."

He sighs, and leans back, which makes me notice all the little details. For example, I see a wooden kendo sword in the corner of a room. Another example is that he's wearing a dark olive tank top and pajama pants, which surprisngly look good on him. In the bright sunlight, his skin looks like bronze, and his black hair's messy, like he just climbed out of bed, which I guess he did.

Meanwhile, _I _on the other hand, look like a monster. I have dark brown hair (that's so dark it actually looks black in certain lighting) that goes up in spikes and it's tangled, my skin's so white it looks like a vampire's, and... am I wearing a nightshirt?

"Sheesh, tough crowd." He rocks back and forth, staring at me the whole time, so much I'm starting to get self-conscious.. I unknowingly pat down my hair.

"Oh, don't do that. You look fine." He reaches over and tousles my hair, repositions himself so he's sitting next to me, then puts an arm around me.

"Go to sleep," he says quietly. "You have hypothermia and you won't be going anywhere for a while."

"But." Curiosity about last night burns like a fire in my gut. "What happened-"

"Yesterday? I'll tell you that later. Now sleep. You need rest."

This time, I don't complain. I lean against him and sleep.

**sorry if the chpt was too short but i promise i'll make the other chpts longer. i can't explain right now because i gotta go somewhere right now so bye!**

**may the force be w/ u~**


	9. Chapter 9

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo here and ready to write! i just started on a walking dead story and if u'd like u can check it out on my profile… i like it so far and i hope u guys will like it too… anyway i'm also gonna start on the sequel pretty soon and i don't care whether u guys like it or not! HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA! okay back to ignoring me**

Chapter 9

I wake up with the afternoon sunlight in my eyes and puffs of air on my face. When I look up, I almost scream to see Mori's face looming over me, which is the source of the puffs of air. My arms are pinned down to my sides, and despite the initial shock, I stare at his sleeping face with a smile.

I turn to the windows. Even though I can see the golden honey-colored light of the sun, there's a huge pile of snow on top of the windows. I sigh, turn back, and am nearly scared to death by Mori wearing a skull mask.

"GAAHH!" I shriek, and I almost beat him to death with my bare hands. He simply smirks, then after I pummel him over and over, just when I'm caught off guard, he grabs my hands and pins me down on the bed. I try my best to lean away, but he simply leans closer until our foreheads are touching.

"You know what you need?" he whispers softly. I start to blush. Then he kisses my head and gets back up, pulling me with him. "Kendo. It'll get you in shape in no time."

"Wonderful," I grumble. "Kendo."

He shrugs. "What? Look where it got me." He motions to himself. I push him.

"What?" He chuckles. "_What_?"

I stand up, stretch, and look around. For some reason, the house sounds empty.

"Why is the house sound so-"

"Empty?" he continues. "Yeah… Everyone left a few days ago for some business trip. That's why I was able to 'sneak' you in so well. You know what else I can do alone?"

He slowly walks toward me, hands in his pockets. I back away, starting to blush again. Instead, he grabs the wooden kendo sword and tosses it to me. "Meet me outside. We're practicing." Then he leaves the room. I groan, and start to change.

[Few Hours Later]

One thing I should mention to you guys: if you do it right, kendo will seriously buff you up. Do it wrong, kendo will seriously give you bad bruises. By the time we were done, I was starting to turn purple, like a grape.

"Ha, you're looking green," Mori laughs. He lowers the sword. I wipe my sweat, and he whaps me hard on the back. I swear that that bamboo is trying to kill me!

"Lunge!" _Whap! _"Step back!"_ Whap! _"Attack!" _Whap! _"Now back!" _Whap! _

Sweat is pouring off me like a waterfall, and by the time he calls for a break, I collapse to the dusty ground. My knees are turning to jelly and my vision is blurry from tiredness. I think I see a bottle of water hovering above me, and I reach for it weakly. Mori chuckles, lifts me up, and sets me down on the bench. He hands me the bottle.

"Tired?"

I snatch it and drink heavily from it. When you're exercising, nothing is better than ice-cold water. And despite the cold radiating off all the snow and ice, I feel like I've just been doused in kerosene and set on fire, then drenched back in water, but I still feel the heat.

_Riiiiing… riiiiing… _Mori pulls something out of his pocket, a cell phone. He answers it, and I lean in to listen. He doesn't complain.

"Ah, Tamaki."

Tamaki screams out of the phone so loud Mori and I have to cover our ears. He's so loud I can imagine him standing in front of us, yelling out loud with a megaphone, waving his arms around like octopus legs.

"HARUHI'S MISSING! MY DAUGHTER'S MISSING! FIND HER! FIND HEEEERRRR!"

There's a short time of silence as we process this. Then a voice goes on the line.

"Umm…" Kyoya says, "I don't think this is important, but she's back at that resort. The resort with the tranny. You haven't realized that?"

Another moment of silence. Then, "Oh. Well, then, we're going there! I'm picking everyone up in the chopper!" And the line's cut.

Mori sighs, shuts the phone, stands up, and offers me his hand. "Might as well. There's nothing else to do here except kendo. And I can tell how much you _hate _it."

I grumble at him, but I take his hand. He pulls me up, but he pulls me up so hard that our lips touch.

Long. Awkward. Silence. We stare at each other. Immediately, I let go of his hand and dash inside, a blush growing hot on my cheeks. When I turn around, I see him… is he smiling?!

"Aiko~? Aiko, where are you going? Hey!"

And we spend the last few minutes of waiting for the chopper as a game of tag. But even then, all I can think about is the kiss.

And how much I actually enjoyed it.


	10. Chapter 10

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo here and ready to write! -_- i'm so tired... it's nightime in china rite now... actually it's midnite but here i am writing to u people... and becuz i'm writing this half asleep u'd better like it! **

Chapter 10

It's about lunchtime right now and we're all eating lunch. I stare down at my sandwich. For some reason, I feel nervous, and it's ruining my appetite. In fact, I haven't taken a bite out of it yet.

Haruhi seems to notice this. "_Senpai, _you alright? You don't look very well."

All I can do is nod. But as I look around, I spot one table. And the nervousness turns into fear. Wanna know why?

Because, sitting in a table _very_ close to mine... are the kidnappers. The _same _kidnappers who tried to sell me for money. And judging by the way they're talking and casting suspicious glances my direction, they're planning on doing the same thing.

Haruhi looks that way, and she turns pale. "Want me to tell Mori-_senpai_?"

I shake my head, stand up, and walk outside. They follow suit. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the others talking and eating cheerily. Kyoya's typing something. Mori's drinking tea.

_You shouldn't disturb them... _My head whispers to me. Weird. I haven't heard from it in a while.

Turns out, I don't need to.

Mori looks up, locks eyes with me for a second, then glances at the men sitting down on a table not far from me. He stands up. I go out the door, the men at my heels.

Once I'm outside, I grab a bike and start pedaling, but when I look behind, a black van is following me. I gulp. It's the same van they used to take me to the warehouse. Fear and anxiety starts bubbling and... oh, great. My stomach is growling.

I realize I haven't been paying attention to where I've been going until my bike approaches near a dead end wall. At top speed. Yikes. So I throw my feet to the ground and the bike goes to a screeching halt. Fantastic. Like I said before, a dead end.

The van stops in front of the alley so I can't escape, and the men exit, slamming the car doors, and they approach. I back away until the cool bricks say I can't.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the little girlie who escaped. Ya wanna know how long it took to find ya?" It's the twig man. The dumpling chuckles stupidly.

I try to think of something smart to say, but all I manage to get out is, "You followed me."

The twig nods. "Good. Didn't take ya that long to figure that out, huh?"

I'm still thinking of something smart to say. "Why me?"

"Because... For our revenge. Because of you, and your _stupid _boyfriend, we lost all our money. All of our goods were gone. They all ran away and because of _that, all _of our investors gave up on us."

I shrug. "I still don't get how all that applies to me."

"It applies to you," the twig hisses, "because _you're _the one who started it. Azuma!"

The fat man brings out a chain whip. Unless it's me gone mad, it's got more spikes and more flecks of blood.

"It's time to pay," the twig sneers. "First you, then your boyfriend, then your ridiculous friends, then those girls, then those stupid investors!"

The fat man raises the chain whip, then brings it down hard on my arm. I scream, then collapse on my knees. Red spots float in and out of my sight, and I struggle to stand.

The whip crashes down on my back, and I'm starting to black out. Everything is fuzzy. I don't see what's happening. I just hear lots of screaming, the whip smacking the floor multiple times, the sound of hitting. Someone grabs me and hoists me over his/her shoulder.

And everything goes black. And I'm left thinking, _My life stinks. _


	11. Chapter 11

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo here and ready to write! so... how long has it been? several days, i imagine... ok but before u guys go raging on me 4 ditching, i have a reason... my grandma died and the funeral lasted a few days... when i came back home i was so depressed i couldn't type... ok so now u have my reason and i'm back! ok back 2 the chpt...**

Chapter 11

"WHAAAAAT?"

Everyone stares at Tamaki with evil diamonds in their eyes. In fact, we stared evilly at Tamaki for so long that he turns to ice again.

"What is it with him and his stupid ideas?" I ask Kyoya, who's standing next to me, typing furiously on his laptop.

"Oh, Tamaki has a flair for the dramatic. And in a way, he's something of a party goer. He likes to have fun and he's a huge baby if he doesnt' get what he wants."

"Oh..." I turn to Haruhi, who's studying her notes. "Hey, Haruhi, what does Tamaki do to get us on his side? Kyoya told me what he does if we disagree with him."

"She looks up and points at him. "_That's _what he does."

Everyone (me included) turns to look at him. He's fiddling with a ball, poking at it several times whilst turning back to look at us with these... big, puppy dog eyes that look really weird on him. Cue: the dramatic drumming scene as everyone stares at him back in something of a dramatic staring scene.

"I look at Mori. "Does he do this a lot?"

He nods without looking at me. I start to think, _What is it with him_? when Kyoya shuts the laptop and announces: "FINE. We have some money left over on the budget."

_Budget? Since when did we have a budget?_

"WOO-HOO!" Tamaki instantly snaps out of his depression and jumps up and down in what I think is joy. "Yes! Let the 2-day sleepover _begin!_"

_...What?_

[Later on in the day...]

After several hours of creepy ghost story telling and etc., everyone falls asleep. Excluding me. I'm still wide awake and I watch everyone's sleeping form, hoping with a sense of anxiety that I'll follow suit. But no dice. So I decide to go exploring.

But as I'm walking towards the bathrooms, I see a sliver of light peeking out of an open door. Instantly, I'm on alert. All my horrible experiences started with things I shouldn't go messing around with. But I can't seem to ignore this, so I take a quick peek inside.

There's two people standing in the room, and it looks like they're arguing. The girl's waving her arms around while they boy's simply talking, but by the way their voices sounds like, they're _definitely _arguing.

"...her over _me. _Why would you do that?" Oh, crap. It's Mai standing in the room. If it's _her_, then they boy must be...

"You disillusioned yourself. Stop it," Mori says quietly.

"Shut up! Don't you..." She goes quiet for a bit. "Don't you remember me?"

My blood goes cold. He saw her somewhere? If so, then where?

"_What _are you talking about?" he asks, a look of confusion starting to grow on his face.

"The tree..." she murmurs. "You helped me when I fell out."

"No..." He says, slowly starting to back up. "Seriously, I don't know what you're talking about."

She lunges and grabs his arm. I'm kinda surprised she can do that, provided the fact she's wearing _extremely _tight jeans. No, seriously, I mean _really _tight jeans.

"_I'm _the one you caught from the tree," Mai insists, tightening her grip on Mori's sleeve. "And yet you saved that _ugly hag _instead of me? What were you thinking?"

"I have my reasons," he says simply. "Now get out."

She sneers at him then dashes out the room, her braids flying behind her. I start to back away until: "Aiko. Stop hiding from the door and get in here."

I freeze mid-step and cautiously step into the room, squinting a little from the lighting. Mori's on a window seat, staring outside. I pad over and sit across from him.

"What was that all about?" I ask. Just in case he decides to hit me, I flinch.

He runs a hand through his hair. He has a tired look on his face. "You overheard. I don't need to tell you."

"Oh... Okay." We sit there like this for a few minutes until he grabs my hand.

"It's cold," he whispers, probably to himself.

I yawn and check my watch. It's 1:00 AM and I'm exhausted. Before I nod off, I lean against something... _warm. _Weird.

He doesn't say anything. And I fall asleep.

**ok so this might not be very good but i'm gonna stick w/ it and see how u guys enjoy or hate! remember, reviews appreciated (except mean ones) and see ya!**

**may the force be w/ u~**


	12. Chapter 12

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo here and ready to write! jeez... how long has it been again? well, it's none of ur business! hahahahahahahahaha... ok i'll tell... i was in mexico doing some things. but i'm back now and hopefully i'll try to continue my stories/ k bye**

Chapter 12

I wake up in my sleeping bag. Interesting, because I'm pretty sure I spent the night in the room... Okay, that just sounds weird, so I'm not gonna repeat it. Anyways, I sit upright and look around. Everyone's still sleeping.

Thinking about class, I wash up and I'm about to head to class when I realize that it's Saturday. No school. I sigh and collapse on my bag. Everyone's still sleeping. I can't think in a full room, so I get up, go outside, and walk over to my usual bench. With a giant sigh that could probably wake up half of Japan, I sit down and start to think. Mostly about what happened at the resort.

Just for the record, blacking out for who knows how many times in a row _stinks. _It's humiliating and it's painful. I close my eyes. I try to think about what happened, but there's a small pounding in my head that's making it hard for me to think straight. Memories are flying past me at 200 miles per second, almost like mini race cars are going a lap in my head.

"Feeling all right?"

I was so absorbed in my "thoughts" that I don't notice Haruhi sitting next to me. She smiles a little at the sky and turns to me. "You were looking at space and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Yeah. Just... doing some thinking."

She nods, then turns back. "What are you thinking about?"

I shrug. "Lots of things."

"Oh..." She shifts a little. "Should I leave you to your thinking?"

I shrug again. Jeez, I really like shrugging these days, huh? "Do what you-"

I'm interrupted by a loud growling. I glance down at my stomach. Haruhi laughs loudly, clutching her sides and stomping her feet into the dirt. I glare at her, then give myself a face-palm.

"Wanna head to the market? I need to go there anyway," Haruhi says while covering her mouth.

"Sure. As you can see, I'm _starving._" And with that, we head off to the markets.

[Mori's POV]

"HARUHIIIIII!"

I bolt upright in my sleeping bag and look around. Tamaki's busy running around waving his arms like an octopus. Everyone else is either laughing at him or doing something else.

Kyoya notices I'm awake. "Haruhi and Aiko disappeared somewhere. As you can tell, Tamaki's completely overreacting."

I groan and rub my face. "Ah."

_Wait a minute... What?_

Kyoya pats my back. "Don't worry. They're in the commoners market." He stands up and goes to tell Tamaki, leaving me with sweaty palms and a nervous system. Everone's rushing about, so I go get ready.

**ok this might not be good but i'm on a timeline so this is all i could get so i hope u'll stick w/ me and thx 4 sticking w/ me and i'll see u soon~**

**may the force be w/ u~**


	13. Chapter 13

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo here and ready 2 write! so guys… WE DID IT! more than 20 reviews! hahahahahaha this has GOT to be the best day ever 4 me… also it's my birthday… (WISH ME HAPPY BIRTHDAY! haha jk) alright i'm done**

Chapter 13

[Mori's POV]

"Oi, Kyoya. Are you sure this is the right place? I've never seen so many commoners in one place," Tamaki says, staring at the huge building in what looks like awe.

We all look up at the huge red sign that reads "SUPERMARKET" in huge bold letters. For some reason, I find it easy to picture the girls coming here. But I still feel nervous. My palms are sweaty.

Meanwhile, Kyoya pushes his glasses and reads off his laptop. "According to my calculations…"

_"According to my calculations" my butt, _I want to say, but I don't.

"Oi… Mori-_senpai…_" Hikaru waves his hand in my face. "Did you hear what Kyoya-_senpai _said?"

My eye starts to twitch. "Ah."

"Okay then!" All of a sudden, we're all dressed in military uniforms while Tamaki stands in front of us with a whiteboard that has a plan of attack drawn on it with vivid colors. "This is how we're gonna do it…" Then he goes into a detailed explanation that doesn't even make sense.

Mitsukuni covers my eyes with his hands. It's quite easy for him, since he's almost always on my shoulders. "Tama-_chan_'s acting weird."

"Ah," I reply.

Then I notice everyone entering the building, and I race after them.

[Aiko's POV]

"Hey, Haruhi! Where are you?" I call out, looking around me for any hint of where she's at.

"Here. By the vegetables." I turn around and see an arm waving over the crowd. So I head towards it.

"Jeez. Don't scare me like that," I chastise her lightly, poking her head. She simply laughs.

As I look at eggs, out the corner of my eye, I see a flicker of movement. And it's not normal. Interestingly enough, the person had blond hair. _Hmm.. Blond hair, huh?_

As I give Haruhi the eggs, I say, "Hey, I need to use the bathroom. Don't go anywhere, okay?" She nods, then heads over to the check-out counter. I sigh, then dash.

[One Business Later]

I run out to find Haruhi. Guess what? I don't find her. Wonderful. Now I gotta spend the next hour attempting to find her. More wonderful.

"Haruhi~!" I call out several times while running around the market, probably looking like an idiot. But I probably look more like an idiot when I bump into someone, sending a plastic bag flying.

"Sorry! Sorry…" I pick up the bag and hand it to the person. It's a thug. But most importantly, an American thug, with huge muscles, scary tattoos, and an even more horrifying expression.

"_Jeez… Watch where you're goin', kid!" _Thank God I'm fluent in English. Huh. I guess Hideki's English lessons did come to use in my life.

"_Sorry! Sorry…"_ I repeat, offering the bag to him. He grabs it and stares at me for a while.

"_Well, at least _someone _has some manners in this God forsaken country. Thanks, kid. See ya around." _And he walks toward the counter. I sigh and breathe in and out, in and out.

"Nice job." I nearly scream from fright. Turning around, it's just Mori. He smiles faintly at me and looks around. "Not everyone can handle an American tourist like that."

I shrug. "Don't thank me. Thank my incredibly American-ized brother who taught me English."

He laughs a little, and it's a nice laugh. I can't help but smile.

He grabs my hand, and starts pulling me forward. "We have an hour left before we leave. Might as well explore. Come on!"

[An Hour of Exploring the Market Later]

"Oi! Time to go!" Tamaki says to everyone.

I sigh in slight disappointment. As we all exit the door, Mori pokes me.

I laugh. "What?"

"Here." He gives me a stuffed teddy bear wearing a jacket and plaid skirt. I laugh again and take it.

"Thanks. I'll get you one too."

He shrugs and ruffles my hair. "No biggie. Now let's go."

And we run off toward the car, teasing each other all the way.


	14. Chapter 14

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo here and ready 2 write! chpt 13... u have no idea how much i want 2 destroy u... does anybody think i'm a bad writer? haha jk i am the best writer EVER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA... haha... ha... k i'm done  
oh yeah i just found out germany won the FIFA world cup haha i'm so dumb... funny story my dad and i made a bet that if germany won he'd give me 20 bucks. now i'm RICH!**

Chapter 14

It's nighttime again. Tamaki called for another sleepover during the car ride back. I wake up to excessive loud snoring from... oh, who is it? Hikaru, I think. Or was it Kaoru? Jeez, those twins are nearly identical. The only thing that gives them away is their voice. And since they speak simultaneously... No wonder they're called the "twin devils".

I look around. Everyone's still sleeping. Since I can't take the overly excessive snoring from the twin (Hikaru, Kaoru, I don't care), I decide to go take a walk. So I grab my jacket and head outside, careful not to wake anyone up.

But as I stare at everyone sleeping like a stalker, I notice one sleeping bag empty. Turns out, it's Mori. No surprise there. I bet he does a lot of weird things in the middle of the night.

So I go outside and walk around town. It's peaceful, and the sky's pitch black, glittering with stars.

The only thing ruining the moment is my own stupid thoughts. I'm thinking too much about everything in my life to notice anything. In fact, I don't even notice Mori sitting down next to me with a heavy sigh until he says "Hey."

"Oh." I look at him. He looks tired. "Hi."

"Did I disturb you?"

"Oh, no. Just... ya know... thinking."

Hi lifts an eyebrow. "About what?"

"You know... Just stuff. Why, what were _you_ doing?"

He chuckles lightly, shoving a hand through his hair. "Nothing. Needed some air."

"Takes ya this long to get some air, huh?" I laugh. He simply grins and fiddles with a necklace.

"You still have that?" I ask him. He nods and continues fiddling with it. The blue opal shines in the moonlight. And out in the shop in front of me, I see a bear. A stuffed bear that looks, very similar to mine, with a navy blue school suit. I jump up and rush inside.

"Hey, where are you going?" Mori calls out to me. I turn around and grin at him. "You're just gonna leave me here?"

I purchase the bear, put it behind me, and say "Yep," before dashing off.

"Hey!" This results to a game of what looks like tag. By the way, if you ever see me on the street, don't _ever _ask me to play tag with you. Why? Because I _suck _at tag. HAHAHAHA!

The tag game only lasts a few minutes. Mostly due to the fact that I _suck _at running and by the time he catches up to me, I'm winded and breathing heavily.

"Okay... You win..." I pant, wiping sweat off my face.

He chuckles and helps me up, giving me trouble as I have to hide the bear from him. "If I win, don't I get a reward?''

I stare at him. His eyes look like they're glowing. "A... reward?"

"Yeah."

I give myself a mental facepalm. What am I gonna give him? I only have a limited amount of money, and because of my vengeful relatives, I don't get a lot of money.

"Uh... What do you want?" I ask nervously. I twiddle my thumbs.

Instantly, he leans down and kisses me. He's warm, and... Oh, great. My brain's going haywire.

He lets go and smirks at me. "You look really dumb. And that is my reward."

I stare at him. "_What?_"

**ok this is chpt 14 i hope u guys like and i'll see ya next time!**

**may the force be w/ u~**


	15. Chapter 15

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo22 here and ready 2 write! i changed the last part 2 littlehan-solo****_22. _****why? BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT! HAHAHAHAHAHA! oh yah just so u know i have a hunger games story on my profile. a lot of people like it so i hope u check it out.**

Chapter 15

I take a glance at the clock. _10 minutes._

The teacher is rambling on and on about what we learned in class and how that will apply to our new classes next year. Blah blah blah, whatever. I don't care about that.

I look at Kyoya, who sits on my right. He glances at his watch and mouths to me, _7 minutes. _We both turn back to the teacher, who's still blabbing about summer break.

"Never forget the moments you had in this room..."

Yeah yeah, whatever.

I turn to my left, which is where Tamaki sits. We grin at each other, then turn our attention back to the teacher. _3 minutes._

"Just so you know, the announcements for the 5-year scholarship in America will be announced during lunch. This year, only 7 students are allowed to do this rare opportunity. Also, for those who do not wish to attend..." The teacher's face clearly sent a message: _You'd better go or else. _"...they can give their place to another student."

_1 minute._

"I personally enjoyed being your _sensei _this year..."

_10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5..._

"I hope to see most of you wandering the school halls next year..."

_4... 3... 2... 1..._

"Class dismissed!"

All of a sudden, everyone stands up and cheers loudly. In fact, they cheered so loudly that I can still hear them echoing through the halls. Kyoya and Tamaki chat about the America scholarship and the club temporarily shutting down should they be accepted.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I say when they ask me about it. "Let's just head to the cafeteria. I'm _starving._"

[At the Cafeteria]

"So, Aiko-_senpai,_" Haruhi sits down across from me with a bento box in her hands. "Do you think you'll be accepted for the scholarship?"

"Eh. Maybe." I pull out the lunch money Hideki gave me. He had to give it in secret since our relatives are really greedy and they hate me. A lot.

I grab lunch and sit down in the same spot. Slowly, everyone else starts to come. Mori sits down next to me with a light sigh. Honey comes and sits on his lap. His plate is full of cake and sweets. _I wonder if he ever got cavities._

Tamaki sits next to Haruhi, like he always does every day. Hikaru and Kaoru plop their plates next to Haruhi and sit down next to her also. And since there's now no more room, Kyoya puts his plate down next to me. And is it me, or are Mori and Kyoya glaring at each other? Wait... They are! There's literally lasers coming out of their eyes. If it wasn't so dangerous, it would probably be funny.

All of a sudden, the intercom comes alive, and the two stop glaring at each other. The ginormous room goes silent as we wait for the announcements.

"This is your principal speaking. right now, I am going to announce the 7 lucky people that will travel to America for their 5-year scholarship." One thing I like about this school: they get straight to the point.

"From the 1st year... Fujioka Haruhi and the Hitachiin twins." I grin at them.

"From the 2nd year... Ootori Kyoya and... Ishikawa Aiko." Kyoya smiles at me. I start to grin until I realize something... Tamaki's name wasn't called. And he's missing from the table. I look around until I see him growing mushrooms in the corner. A dark cloud is literally hanging over him. I go over to him and pat his shoulder.

"And from the 3rd year... Haninozuka Mitsukuni and Morinozuka Takashi." They grin at each other and Mori gives me a small smile.

"Remember, selected students, that you can give your place to another student should you choose to not attend. Thank you very much for your time." And the intercom clicks off. Everyone's muttering to each other, casting us glances of what looks like admiration and pity. The pity is probably for Tamaki, who's still growing mushrooms.

"You okay?" I ask him. He's poking a mushroom with a finger, and his face is blank.

He gets up and brushes himself off. "I'm good. It's all good... We might as well get the club started." And with a heavy sigh, he walks toward Music Room #3, looking dejected.

"I feel bad for him," I say to Haruhi as we walk.

She shrugs. "He always does that whenever he doesn't get what he wants. Believe me, I know. I've been around this guy for-"

She's interrupted when someone picks me up and slams me against the wall.

"You. Are. Getting. On. My. Last. [bleep]ing. Nerve," Mai, the Brazilian-Japanese bully hisses into my ear. Ugh. Her breath smells _horrible_.

"What do you mean?" I ask calmly. Haruhi looks like she's ready to pulverize her, but I shoot her a warning, and she backs off.

"You _steal _my boyfriend," she whispers angrily, her voice escalating, "you _steal _my money, and now you steal my _scholarship?!_"

"What do you mean?" I repeat. "None of those things make sense. At all. Do I look like a person who would steal things like that?"

"_Yes. You do._" She drops me on the ground and starts to walk away. "Give me that scholarship by the end of the day!"

I stand up on weak legs and massage my shoulders. Man, she has a tight grip.

**ok this is the 2nd 2 last chpt i hope u enjoyed this story becuz i certainly did...n't. hahahahahha ok  
reviews appreciated and nice criticizm is good 2**

**may the force be w/ u~**


	16. Chapter 16

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo22 here and ready 2 write! ok guys... this is it... this is the final chpt! i feel really happy that some people liked it and... am i forgetting something? oh yah... the sequel might not actually happen. i'll leave it open 4 discussion but it's probably not gonna work... ok guys i'm done. **

**oh yah this might be a long chpt**

Chapter 16

"You have _got _to be kidding me."

I take another glance down at the note: _If you want to not get beat, meet me in the library at 6:00. Don't even think about bringing your friends or the teachers._

"You are _not _going there by yourself," Haruhi proclaims. "I'll tell this to the teacher. He'll think of something."

I lift my hand. "No, Haruhi. I'll take care of this myself."

She looks at me nervously. "But-"

My eyebrow goes up. She gulps and nods. I sigh and go outside for air.

The sun's just started to go down, turning the sky into oranges, yellows, and reds. All of the students went home, including Tamaki, Kyoya, and the twins. Excluded are: me, Haruhi, Honey, and Mori. Oh yeah, and I suppose Mai, who's waiting for me in the library.

"Are you seriously gonna?"

I look up. Mori's sitting next to me, his gray eyes fixed on the horizon. There's a gentle breeze that ruffles his hair. He looks at me and frowns. "I still can't believe you're that stupid enough to go."

I pout. "Shut up. I don't need advice from you. And if you're thinking about coming with me, don't even."

He lifts an eyebrow. "And why ever not?"

"Because..." I start, trying to find the right words to say, "...I'm not in a life threatening situation, unlike the last 3 times."

"You figured it out, huh?" He mock-applauses, filling me with annoyance.

"Oh, shut up," I grumble, checking my watch. 5:55. I stand up, brushing myself off, even though there's no dirt. "I gotta go. It's almost time."

Mori's face darkens. He stands up and grabs my hand. "I'm not gonna stand around and watch my friend get hurt."

I'm kinda hurt that he calls me just a friend, but I'm not gonna fight. I'm not in the mood. "I know you're concerned about me, and I know you care for my health. But this is something I've gotta handle on my own."

He grimaces and closes his eyes, but doesn't say anything.

I check my watch. 5:57. "I gotta-"

He leans down and kisses me, interrupting the last word. But not-so-strangely, I don't mind.

"...Go," I say, quite stupidly, when he let's go of me. He sighs, and backs away.

"Alright. But if you need me, just scream."

I nod, then run inside, towards the library.

[At the Library]

"So, punk. You made it. And right on time, too." Mai leans against a chair and watches me like a hawk. I notice the principal is standing next to her, looking nervous. He's twitching too. Probably brought by force.

"Why'd you bring him?" I point the principal out to her. She makes a face.

"Need him to approve the transaction." I don't like the way she says "transaction".

"Now..." She strides over and lifts me by my collar. "Say it."

"Say _what?_" I mutter.

In a flash, she punches me. My skin stings, and it's throbbing all over.

"_Say_ it." She lifts me up by the collar again and slaps me. I drop to the floor and she starts kicking me until my chest hurts. When I cough, what comes out is blood.

_Why am I so _weak? I think to myself as she kicks me, over and over and over.

By the time she lifts me up again, my head's pounding and my lungs are on fire.

"Say. It." Her voice is deadly calm. I'm starting to get nervous.

"'_Say. It,_" I mimic, doing my best to sound like a total douche, because that's what she is.

"AGH!" She throws me onto the ground, picks me up, and throws me back down again. She does this several times and by the time she finishes, I'm gagging and my sides burn.

"No... way..." I whisper. My voice is seriously getting weak. My arms are limp and covered with what looks like multicolored bruises. She starts kicking me until I gag. Bile is rushing up to my throat.

"Don't _even,_" Mai growls. The principal whimpers.

I can't help it. I vomit. All over her nice and expensive shoes.

"EWW! DISGUSTING!" She picks me up and throws me halfway across the room, but not before punching me 6 times in a row. My jaw feels like it's broken.

"Please! Don't do this!" the principal cries out. "Can't you see you're hurting her?"

"I'm not gonna stop," she mutters through gritted teeth, stalking toward me like an animal, "until she gives me that scholarship!" She picks me up and throws me onto the ground.

"I..." I whisper, trying desperately to get off the ground. No dice. "I... I give..."

She grins evilly, almost like a shark. I manage to get myself off the carpeted ground and spit out blood. The red carpet looks darker in some places. I wipe my mouth, and my hand comes up bloody.

"I give Mai...'' Said person approaches me with the principal in tow, smiling widely and manically. "Nothing!" I tackle her, knocking her down.

I turn to the principal. "Run!" He grabs my sleeve and dashes toward the door, but he's not fast enough. Mai grabs me from behind and throws me far back into the room.

The pain's too much. My vision's swimming with black splotches. Mai stalks toward me and kicks me. Hard. My chest erupts in pain and scream.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

She laughs. "Nobody's here to save you, you little _thief. _And now..." She pulls something out. It looks like a whip. "Let's see you dance. Like the dead." And with a snap, she sends the whip down across my back. I scream and start to twitch. _it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts._

"Dance! No one's gonna help you!"

_It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts..._

"DIE!" She lifts the whip up high, laughing manically.

_I don't want to hurt anymore..._

My eyes close. The dark surrounds me, and I feel nothing.

_I'm dead._

[...]

"_Aiko!_"

What's that? Who's calling me?

"_Aiko!_"

The voice is getting louder.

"_AIKO!_"

That person's _really_ loud.

"AIKO!"

My eyes fly open and I bolt upright. Not a good move. My chest erupts in pain and I lie back down on a... a bed?

Eight people are looking down at me with worry. With a sigh, I realize it's just the Host Club, Hideki, and the principal.

"Aiko-_senpai! _Are you alright?" Haruhi looks like she's about to cry. I smile at her in reassurance.

"I'm fine... I'm fine..." My voice comes out croaky, but I don't care. I look at everyone. "What happened?"

"You fainted," Kyoya explains. "Mori-_senpai _called us and brought us over to the library. We managed to get you out before your wounds... well..."

I sigh. "God, I'm stupid."

Hideki grins. "I always told you that, and you never believed me."

"Shut up, _aniki._" As I look around, I don't see Mori anywhere. Tamaki seems to notice, and he points next to me. Mori's lying down on a couch, eyes closed.

"He's asleep,'' Tamaki murmurs quietly. "He never leaves."

I sigh.

_Riiing... Riiing... _

"Oh, that'll be me," Hideki mutters. "Excuse me." He goes outside, cell phone up to his ear.

"I hope I can be alright to go to America," I whisper.

Hikaru grins widely. "You'll be alright. You healed up a lot faster than expected, so the doctors are letting you go in a few hours. The America trip is tomorrow, so you better rest up!"

Kaoru nods ferociously. "It'd be a lot boring if you didn't come.''

I spot Tamaki in the corner growing mushrooms. Sigh. If I wasn't in the hospital, this would be typical.

Hideki walks in, looking nervous. He approaches me and whispers in my ear, "Mom's alive. She's in Italy, and she's waiting for us. The plane's set to leave in two days."

My eyes widen. I whisper, "But, I'm supposed to go to America tomorrow."

He looks at me sadly. "Believe me, I know. If I could, I'd rather send you to America. But Mom wants to see us both. In person."

I want to cry, but now's not the time. The doctor comes in and says, "I think you're ready to head out."

"Oh, yeah, Aiko," Kyoya says. I turn to him. "If it makes you feel any better, Mai was sent to a juvenile center."

I grin. "Ha. That's what she deserves." Then I turn to Hideki. "Alright. Take me home."

[At Nighttime]

_Thunk. Thunk. _My eyes open and I see a pebble fly toward my window.

"AIII!" I blot upright and look outside. Mori's standing in the street, throwing pebbles at my window. I motion for him to stop, and I open the window. "What are you _doing? _It's like... 3 AM!"

He smiles a little. "Just come down. It's warm out, so you don't need to change."

Grumbling, I rub my eyes, tromp down the stairs, open, close, and lock the door, making sure I have my keys, and I go to where Mori is waiting for me. He grins and we walk down the street.

"There's something I need to show you," he whispers in my ear.

Soon, we arrive at a meadow. He sits down and pats the grass beside him. After I sit down, he wraps an arm around me and I hear him say, "Just in time for the show."

"What show?" I grumble until I hear a _whiz_zing sound and the sky erupts in a shower of colors. "Fireworks!" I cry. Then I turn to him. "At 10 PM?"

He shrugs. "The people like doing it late at night. I come here often to think."

I don't feel like knowing what he thinks about. The night's perfect, with fireworks blazing across the sky and Mori's next to me. I don't need anything else. And since there's nothing to lose, I lean over and kiss him.

"What was that about?" he asks, but he doesn't sound angry. He just laughs and kisses me back.

[At the Airport]

I stand in the terminal, watching the others laugh and grin at each other. Before I went home, I talked with the principal and gave my place to Tamaki, who's currently talking with Haruhi with a big smile on his face.

"The flight to America leaves in 5 minutes at terminal B. The flight to America leaves in 5 minutes at terminal B."

So I follow them and help Haruhi with her suitcase.

When we arrive, I hug everyone.

"I'll miss you,'' Haruhi whispers in my ear. "Please get better."

I smirk. "Don't worry. I will."

And everyone goes inside. Well everyone except Mori. He stares at me, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

I sigh and hug him. "I'll miss you," I whisper.

He wraps his arms around me and sighs. Something wet falls on my shoulder.

I pull back from him and give him the bear. "Here. A gift."

His eyebrow goes up, but he takes it. And laughs.

"This is the bear that I gave you, huh?" He chuckles, and stuffs it in the bag. Then he leans over and kisses my forehead. When he pulls away, he looks sad.

"Well... See ya." And he boards the plane, giving me a wave.

I wave back and say nothing.

**ok guys! i might post an epilogue after this, but don't count on it! this is the final chpt and i hope u enjoyed the story.**

**may the force be w/ u and i'll see u soon!**


	17. Epilogue

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo22 here and ready 2 write! this is the epilogue of the story and shoutout 2 everyone who liked this, followed this, and reviewed this story. seriously, u guys r really cool and there's nothing i can say that'll summarize the fact that i really loved u guys and i'm so thankful towards u people… ok enough sappiness! let's get started!**

Epilogue

_Where the heck is it?!_

I dig through my suitcase, searching for it.

_My God, I _cannot _lose it! It's the last thing she gave me. I _cannot _lose it now!_

We're all waiting in the airport, waiting for the plane that'll take us back to Japan. Mitsukuni's sleeping peacefully in a chair with Usa-_chan, _the others are talking quietly, and I'm digging through my things searching for a stuffed animal.

I put away the last things back in my suitcase. It's not in there.

Then… duh! The duffel bag! Am I _that _stupid? I take off the duffel bag from my shoulders and open it. As I dig through it, I'm getting more nervous.

"_The flight to Japan is in terminal A. The flight to Japan is in terminal A._" Oh, God. Where is it?!

…There. I pull it out, and it's beady eyes stare back at me.

_Just wait. I'll be home soon..._

[…]

"Okay, Mom! Love you, bye!"

The phone disconnects. I sigh heavily and put it down. After changing into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, I go to the bathroom. The scar on my cheek is now nothing but a small mark on my skin. Yuuki jumps on the counter and purrs, insisting that I pet him.

I check the clock. 1:00 PM. I have a few minutes, so I go to my room, Yuuki following me. Jumping on my bed, I stretch and breathe heavily, closing my eyes. But I feel nervous. I sit up, grab the bear from it's usual place on my nightstand, and hug it. It still smells like copal and amber. The scent relaxes me.

I look at my alarm. 1:25. Time to go to work. I grab my brown apron from the kitchen counter and my lanyard/keys from it's hook and open the door. The sun's shining, birds are chirping, the sky's a brilliant blue, and I'll be late if I continue to admire the scenery. With a yelp, I lock the door and run towards the cafe. Thank God it's not far.

[A Few Minutes Later]

"Aiko! Thank goodness you made it! You're almost late; the shop opens in a few seconds!"

I sigh. "I know, Yumi. Thanks for the reminder." The bell on the door rings, and the first customers rush in, eager for coffee.

"Aiko, I need an ice coffee, stat!"

"Alright, alright."

As I make it, I notice a guy sitting in a seat close to the window, reading a newspaper sipping ice coffee, and listening to music. Something about this guy bothers me, but the feeling to investigate flies out of my head when I hear Yumi continuously shouting out orders, leaving me and two other people to rush about.

[…]

My God, American tunes _suck. _I rip off my headphones and I'm tempted to throw them to the ground, but that would draw too much attention to me. I don't want that. I don't want her noticing me just yet.

I look down at my watch. 2:30. If that Yumi girl's right, she'll leave in 30 minutes. And speaking of her, as I sip my coffee, I take a quick glance at her. And, for the millionth time in a row, I nearly spew it out.

Her brown, almost black, hair tumbles over her shoulder in a loose ponytail, and her ocean-blue eyes sparkle with amusement. In other words, she's beautiful. Huh. I guess appearances _can_ change in 5 years.

I put the headphones back around my neck and turn off my iPod, shoving it into my pocket. I'm starting to wonder if my outfit, consisting of mid-thigh length khakis, flip flops, a t-shirt, and headphones, is looking strange, but no one's giving me strange looks yet. Well, except her. But she only looked once, so I guess I'm in the clear.

And then I see it. She's leaving the building and heading down the street. I grab my backpack, throw away the empty cup, and walk outside.

[…]

I breathe deeply and head inside the building. I haven't been in this building since 5 years.

I go through the rotating doors and am greeted by the guard. "Hello, Ms. Ishikawa," he says, bowing politely. "It's nice to see you again. Hideki-_sama _is waiting for you in his office."

"Thanks." I nod to him and enter the elevator. I press the "P" and listen to elevator Muzak as it goes up and up and up. As it goes up, I start to get nervous, and I fiddle with Dad's dog tag. Hideki normally never calls me to visit at work.

The elevator gives a small _ding, _and the doors slide open, revealing a penthouse office. One wall is nothing but windows, while the other three are painted beige. In front of me is a glass office desk with a bunch of files and important-looking papers. Hideki's siting on a black swivel chair, hunched over a thick stack of papers and muttering to himself.

"Hey, _aniki._"

He looks up and smiles. "Aiko. Nice of you to drop by."

I grin a little and place a coffee on the table. "That's for you. Believe me, you need it." And it's true. He has dark circles that go all the way down to his chin, and his eyes are a little droopy.

"Ugh… Thanks, Aiko. It's just…." He yawns loudly and smacks his lips. "I'm _so _tired, and I need to finish this paperwork by 5:00."

I look at the clock. It's 3:30 right now. "Well, whatever. You need to sleep."

"I need to finish the paperwork… Zzzzzz…" He leans his head onto the table and snores. Chuckling to myself, I drape a jacket over him, place a book underneath his head, and leave.

"Bye, Ms. Ishikawa!" the guard calls after me. "Come back soon!"

I wave, and walk towards the market. I'm running out of groceries.

[Few Hours Later]

It's 6:00, and I _finally _make it back home. I struggle with the plastic bags as I walk toward the door. I notice my neighbor is watering the flowers, so I wave to her.

"Oh, Aiko! Beautiful day, huh?"

I nod. "Yeah. It sure is." And I don't know why, but I feel sad. And as I open the door, I hear her say, "By the way, someone's here to see you."

"Who?" I ask. She doesn't reply, so I simply open the door and step inside and… Whoa.

A pair of flip flops are sitting there. Someone's inside.

"Who's there?" I call out, expecting silence. I'm wrong.

Someone's head pops out from the living room. Black hair, dark grey eyes… Wait a minute.

I stare at him. He stares at me back. Where have I seen him… Oh my God.

The cafe. He was the guy sitting at the window seat.

"…Mori," I whisper.

"Yo," Mori grins.

[…]

"So, you just came back from America today, and you spent the whole time following me?" I ask, shaking my head from the silliness.

He leans against the sofa and sighs. "Yup. You were easy to follow, until you went in the office building. Did you do anything?"

I shrug. "Eh. None of your business."

He laughs loudly, and I can't help but give a smile. "It's nice to see you again."

He stops laughing, and smiles at the ground. "Yeah. Same here. Nice to be back."

He closes his eyes, and I look at him. He looks a little different. His black hair grew a little bit and it's more tousled. There's a little nick on his chin, and he has more muscles in his arms. Probably from a butt ton of kendo. And in the sunlight, his skin looks like bronze.

He yawns, stretches his arms, and his head rests on my shoulder.

And as the sun goes down, he kisses me.

"Love ya," I say to him.

He chuckles. "Yeah." He kisses me again. "So do I."

**oh~~ kay! this. is. it! this is the end of the line 4 me, folks! if u want 2 read more of my stories, u can go on my profile and u'll see 2 more stories. well… maybe 1. but u'll definitely see more of me in the future!**

**thank u all so much. i love u all! 3333**

**may the force be w/ u~ **

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**a bunny**


	18. My One-Shot!

**heyo people~ littlehan-solo22 here and ready 2 write! so... how do i explain the fact that i just got bored w/ this story and then got an amazing idea 4 a 1-shot, yet the story's already finished? wait... i already explained... then, just ignore this! HAHAHAHAHA!**

One-Shot Chapter **(A/N btw they r still in school)**

I'm walking past the bench where I usually sit when I hear a rustle in the tree next to me, and Mori's face is right in front of me. Oh yeah, did I mention that he's upside down and hanging from a tree branch?

"AH!" I scream, and step back. "You scared me! What the heck are you _doing?_"

He chuckles. "Yo."

"Really? That's all you say? 'Yo'?" I grumble as I cross my arms.

He chuckles again and starts to swing. "Eh. Anyway, I always think here, and swinging upside down is a good way for my brain to work better."

My eye twitches. "But wouldn't your head hurt from all the blood rushing to your head?"

Mori doesn't answer. He just stares at me. For some reason, those gray eyes always make me feel nervous. I swallow and look away.

He laughs. "Your face is red."

Whipping my head to look at him, I say, "I am _not _blushing!"

"Yeah, you're _totally _blushing." He laughs, and pokes my cheek. "Alright, then. Prove to me that you're not blushing."

"Um..." I run a hand through my hair. "How do I do that?"

He lifts an eyebrow. "Stare at me for... hmm... a minute."

Already, I feel my face get warm. "Stare... stare at you? I- I can't do that!"

Mori laughs again. "Then you admit that you're blushing, yes?"

I feel my face growing warmer by the second. "I didn't say that!" And with a sigh, I look at him. "_Fine. _But only because I'm _not _blushing." And so I stare at him. For a long time.

Just when I can't take it anymore, he gestures for me to approach him. So nervously, I step close to him until his face is two inches away. He leans forward a little. One inch.

"You're _so _blushing," he whispers. He's so close to me that his lips tickle my ear.

"_What-_" I splutter when he kisses me. It's weird because he's upside down, but I'm too distracted to think.

He lets go and smiles lightly at me. "You lose."

"Ugh," I groan, but I'm not very mad. "It's because of you that I lost!"

He laughs, and he drops from the branch. Brushing his pants, he walks up to me and pulls me into a hug.

"Yeah," he chuckles. "I know."

**okay this is my 1 shot! i hope u enjoyed and see ya next time!**

**may the force be w/ u~**

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**my bunny**


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